VANCOUVER, Dec. 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Lupaka Gold Corp.
("Lupaka Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV:LPK, FRA:LQP)
is pleased to report on the following key operational advancements
associated with the Invicta Gold Development Project
("Invicta", or "Invicta Project").
Road Construction Initiated
The Company has signed a
contract with local operators to expand, enhance, and modify 27
kilometres of road commencing from the paved Huacho-Churin-Oyon
highway, located at approximately 1,500 metres above sea level, up
to the Invicta Project located at approximately 3,500 metres above
sea level. This new road will provide access to Invicta for
heavy machinery and trucks that can transport large loads of
material, reduce travel time, significantly increase safety, and
minimize the operational impact on certain local Lacsanga
communities.
In addition, the existing road will be widened from 4 metres up
to 6 metres, a safety berm will be created, and in three key areas
the road will be diverted away from local Lacsanga
communities. Crews and equipment were mobilized in early
December, work is now underway on three separate fronts and is
expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of
2018. Members of the Lacsanga community are being employed by
the contractors wherever possible to undertake and supervise road
construction initiatives and the Company is proud to have such
strong support from the community.
Pictures of the road construction program can be found on our
website under the following link:
http://www.lupakagold.com/s/photogallery.asp?ReportID=809914.
Will Ansley, President and CEO of
Lupaka, stated: "My vision is to transform the well-funded Invicta
Gold Project into a cash-flow generating asset in short order, with
the strong support of our local team. Today's announcement
demonstrates we're taking the right steps in that direction and we
envision commencing potential production, with help from a
third-party mining contractor, during the second half of 2018."
Mining Contractor Engaged
PLH S.A.C. ("PLH")
has been selected as the mining contractor for the Invicta Project,
a natural choice as PLH performed two bulk sample extraction
programs for Lupaka Gold in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Final terms of the contract are currently being negotiated, and it
is anticipated PLH will mobilize to site in the first quarter
2018. Initial development and rehabilitation of the existing
infrastructure is expected to take approximately three months to
complete.
Toll Milling & Offtake Agreement
Discussions are
ongoing with several toll milling facilities and offtake traders
for the concentrate, a decision is expected to be made in the first
quarter of 2018.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Service Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this
news release.
About Lupaka Gold
Lupaka is an active Canadian-based
company focused on creating shareholder value through discoveries
and strategic development of its assets in some of the most
prolific mining regions of Peru.
Invicta Gold Development Project – 100% owned, the
Company's flagship project is an advanced stage gold-copper
polymetallic underground deposit located approximately 120
kilometres north of Lima. Over $15
million in mine and related development has been by spent
previous owners, and management expects to commence potential
production in the second half of 2018 by using third-party mining
contractors and utilizing the adit and existing workings. The
project is fully permitted and community agreements are in
place.
The potential underground operation will be focused on accessing
Invicta's Measured and Indicated mineral resources, which was
prepared by SRK Consulting (US) Inc. in 2012 estimated as:
Measured mineral resource - 131,000 tonnes grading 6.65 grams
per tonne ("g/t") gold equivalent for 28,000 contained ounces
("ozs") of gold, from: 18,000 ozs Au grading at 4.29 g/t, 133,000
ozs Ag grading at 31.71 g/t, 2,119k
lbs Cu grading at 0.73%, 1,110k lbs
Pb grading at 0.39% and 1,105k lbs of
Zn grading at 0.38%.
Indicated mineral resource - 8,513,000 tonnes grading 3.43 g/t
gold equivalent for 939,000 contained ozs of gold, from:
573,000 ozs Au grading at 2.09 g/t, 4,285,000 ozs Ag grading at
15.65 g/t, 79,048k lbs Cu grading at
0.42%, 45,171k lbs Pb grading at
0.24% and 53,482k lbs of Zn grading
at 0.21%.
An Inferred mineral resource estimate of 2,534,000 tonnes
grading 2.90 g/t gold equivalent for 236,000 contained ozs of gold
has also been established.
The 2012 mineral resources are stated at a 1.30 g/t gold
equivalent cut‐off. Metal prices assumed for the gold
equivalent calculation are US$1,500/oz for gold, US$32.50/oz for silver, US$3.90/lb for copper, US$1.05/lb for lead and US$1.00/lb for zinc. The gold equivalent
calculation assumes 100% metallurgical recovery, and does not
account for any smelting, transportation or refining charges. See
further disclosure regarding the calculated gold equivalent cut-off
grade, as below.
Invicta's approved EIA allows for mine production of 1,000 tpd,
although the current mining plan is limited to 350 tpd.
Cautionary Note Regarding the Invicta Production
Decision
The decision to commence potential production at the Invicta
Gold Project and the Company's plans for a mining operation as
referenced herein (the "Production Decision and Plans") were
based on economic models prepared by the Company in conjunction
with management's knowledge of the property and the existing
estimate of measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources on
the property. The Production Decision and Plans were not
based on a preliminary economic assessment, a pre-feasibility study
or a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic
and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased
uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated
with the Production Decision and Plans, in particular the risk that
mineral grades will be lower than expected, the risk that
construction or ongoing mining operations are more difficult or
more expensive than expected, the risk that the Company will not be
able to transport or sell the mineralized rock it produces to local
custom toll mills on the terms it expects, or at all; production
and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of
a detailed economic and technical analysis according to and in
accordance with NI 43-101.
Josnitoro Gold Project – the Company holds an
option to earn a 65% interest on this project from Hochschild
Mining PLC. The project is located approximately 800 kilometres by
road southeast of Lima in the
Department of Apurimac, southern Peru, within the Andahuaylas-Yaury Belt, in
which the Las Bambas mine (MMG Limited) and the Constancia mine
(HudBay Minerals) are located. Historical work on the disseminated
gold zones includes over 170 shallow drill holes and extensive
surface trenching, as well as artisanal mining.
Qualified Person
The technical information in this
document has been reviewed and approved by Julio Castañeda
Mondragon, MAIG, the President of Lupaka Gold Peru S.A.C., a
Peruvian subsidiary of the Company, and a Qualified Person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Castañeda has verified
the scientific and technical information, including sampling,
analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions
contained in this news release.
The Invicta Gold Project mineral resource estimates referred to
in this news release are disclosed in the technical report dated
April 16, 2012, titled "Technical
Report on Resources, Invicta Gold Project, Huaura Province,
Peru" (the "Invicta Technical
Report"), and prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., which is
available at www.sedar.com under Lupaka Gold Corp's profile. The
metal prices used to calculate the gold equivalent cut-off grade in
the Invicta Technical Report are based on prices at the
time. Investors are cautioned that current metal prices
are now lower and as a result, the above-referenced cut-off grade
could be materially affected based on current prices.
Investors are further cautioned that the prices of
precious metals can fluctuate in wide ranges over short
periods of time.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking
Information
All statements, trend analysis and other
information contained in this press release relative to anticipated
future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, included
herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to
improvements in the road to the Invicta Project and its anticipated
benefits and the timing of completion of the improvements, the
timing of the commencement of potential production from the Invicta
Project and the generation of cash therefrom, the anticipated
methods of production, the receipt of and anticipated use of
proceeds of the PLI Financing, the Company's plans and intentions
for Invicta, mineral resource estimates, are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions,
estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are
made that the Company believes are reasonable, including: that the
repayment of the PLI Financing is consummated on the anticipated
terms, that the supplies, equipment, personnel, permits, and local
community approvals required to conduct the Company's planned
pre-production and development activities will be available on
reasonable terms, that the Company will be able to comply with the
delivery and other obligations in the PLI Financing Agreement, that
results of exploration activities will be consistent with
management's expectations and that the Company will not experience
any material accident, labour dispute, or failure of equipment and
with respect to the planned mining operations at Invicta; that
pre-production mine development can be completed in the time and
for the cost projected; that the Company will be able to obtain
funding for planned production expenses; that mineralization at
Invicta will be of the grades and in the locations expected; that
the Company will be able to extract and transport mineralized rock
efficiently and sell the mineralized rock at the prices and in the
manner and quantities expected; that permits will be received on
the terms and timeline expected and that other regulatory or
permitting issues will not arise; that mining methods can be
employed in the manner and at the costs expected and that such
methods yield the results the Company expects them to.
However, forward-looking information involves known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include,
among others: all of the risks described in this news
release; failure of the PLI Financing to complete on the proposed
terms or at all, including due to the Company's inability to
complete the conditions precedent, the risk that actual results of
exploration and development activities will be different than
anticipated; that the Company will not be able to comply with the
delivery or other obligations in the PLI Financing Agreement and
the risk that PLI will enforce its security over the Company's
assets, including its mineral properties; that cost of labour,
equipment or materials will increase more than expected; that the
future price of gold will decline; that the Canadian dollar will
strengthen against the U.S. dollar; that mineral resources are not
as estimated; unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or
recovery rates; risks related to shipping mineralized rock; the
risk that local mills cannot or will not buy or process mineralized
rock from the planned production for the prices expected or at all;
risk of accidents, labour disputes and other risks generally
associated with mineral exploration; unanticipated delays in
obtaining or failure to obtain community, governmental or
regulatory approvals or financing; and all of the risks generally
associated with the development of mining facilities and the
operation of a producing mine, as well as the risks described in
the Company's annual information form, which is available on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events
or results to differ materially from those described in
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
actions, events or results to not be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking
information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty
thereof. Lupaka Gold does not undertake any obligation to
update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable
securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Lupaka Gold Corp.